The Best Independent Art Galleries In Berlin

Berlin is known for its expansive artistic community and fiercely independent style. Forever creating and bending the rules, it has earned a reputation as a Mecca for the strange, the contemporary and the non-conformist in its modes of expression. Here’s Culture Trip’s list of Berlin’s best independent art galleries giving a home to its unique creations.

1. Urban Spree

Art Gallery

Friedrichshain Neighboorhood-Berlin-Germany

This is Berlin’s trifecta of cool; a gallery, concert room and event space, all housed within 1,700 square meters (18,300 square feet) of an artistic, concrete compound. As the name suggests, Urban Spree is dedicated to showcasing the best in urban cultures through exhibitions, a bookshop, artist residencies and concerts. The gallery itself has a grassroots approach that works closely with street and graffiti artists, urban photographers and contemporary artists. They even have their own beer garden, so there’s no reason to leave.

2. BC Gallery

Art Gallery

BC Gallery was founded in 2013 by an independent art lover, collector and sound designer. The work is high-end and professional; part of the owner’s quest to bring collectors high quality work and to sustain the gallery’s existence. The gallery space, located in Friedrichstein, features regular solo and group shows, by both established and up and coming artists in the contemporary art scene.

3. Circle Culture Gallery

Circle Culture Gallery has become the go-to space for groundbreaking contemporary art. The focus is on fine art emerging out of the rougher edges of urban movements, such as street art, graffiti and grassroots activism. The gallery came about in 2001 through the joint efforts of Johann Haehling von Lanzenauer and Dirk Staudinger and with the support from international curators. It has become an independent platform where art is used to investigate the key challenges of our time.

Circle Culture Gallery, Potsdamer Straße 68, Berlin, Germany, +49 30 2 7581 7846

5. KW Institute for Contemporary Art

The KW Institute for Contemporary Art is an essential stop on a tour of Berlin’s contemporary art galleries. It offers art lovers four floors and a courtyard to explore, which can be anything from workshops, talks, and exhibitions, film screenings and performances. Labeling itself as a collaborative creation space rather than a gallery, the KW presents shows by emerging and established artists that are dynamic and inspiring. The Berlin Biennale, launched by KW in 1996, is today one of the most respected contemporary art exhibitions in Europe, adding another achievement to the gallery’s distinguished history.

KW Institute for Contemporary Art, 69 Auguststraße, Berlin, Germany, +49 3 0243 4590

Cyprien Gaillard – The Recovery of Discovery, KW Institute for Contemporary Art | ©Victor Bergmann/Flickr

6. Galerie Buchholz

Galerie Buchholz is the brainchild of Daniel Buchholz who has opened up spaces in Berlin, Cologne, and New York. The gallery specializes in international contemporary art. Significant German painters and sculptors, along with international artists have been represented here since its inception in Cologne in the 1980s.

Galeire Buchholz, Fasanenstraße 30, Berlin, Germany, +49 30 8862 4056

The work of Mayo Thompson, 2016 | © Galerie Buchholz/Galerie Buchholz

7. Sammlung Boros Collection

The Sammlung Boros Collection, or Boros Bunker as it is more commonly known, is one of Berlin’s most exciting private galleries. Its intrigue is derived from the fact that it is housed in an old WWII bunker, and that it only accepts visitors on the weekends and by appointment only. Being built in 1942, its history is long and varied. From being a bomb shelter to a prison, to a storage depot for bananas, it then became a notorious venue for S&M fetish parties, before being transformed by Christian Boros and his family into the high-end gallery it is today.

Sammlung Boros Collection, 20 Reinhardtstraße, Berlin, Germany, +49 30 2759 4065

A gallery stepped in history |© Lux & Jourik/Flickr

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.